Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to canned food products and particularly to canned food products that contain a second emulsion encasing a first emulsion having a different appearance and texture and to methods for making such food products.
Description of Related Art
Canned food can be of a loaf type with variations in texture and appearance from a meat loaf to an aerated mousse. These are typically prepared by comminuting raw meat material and mixing it with water, salt, spices, curing agents, gelling agents and, if necessary, fats to form a batter. The batter is then heated. The heated batter is then filled into cans to form, after retorting and cooling, a meat loaf. Variations in loaf texture and appearance are achieved by extent of particle size reduction in the batter; as well as type and level of binders in the formula.
Another common form of canned food is meat or meat analog chunks (as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,781,939, 6,379,738 and 6,692,787) or slices (as described in European Patent Publication No. EP 1 565 069 A1) in gravy or sauce. Other variations include the meat or meat analog chunks in loaf (as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,440,485), aspic or gel form. Further variations in canned food image include distinct bi-layering of chunks and loaf forms (as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,582,740) or multi-layering of these (as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,911,224). Other variations are made by introducing a center filling where the center filling layer is a loaf batter of a different color or texture or both, or where the center filling is chunks in gravy (as described in European Patent No. EP 1 061 815 B1). For this product, the center filling was visible on removal of the lid (top) and on emptying (bottom).
These canned food products are adequate for their purpose. However, consumers of canned food products, including pet owners and caregivers, are continually seeking novel yet appealing canned food forms or varieties. There is, therefore, a need for new canned food products that bring variety and appeal to consumers, including meat-filled type products that are highly desirable by the consumer.